NOS.com: New Orleans Saints player transcripts from Day 6 of training camp

User Name

Remember Me?

Password

New Orleans Saints player transcripts from Day 6 of training camp

this is a discussion within the Saints Community Forum; New Orleans Saints Wide Receiver Kenny Stills
Post-Practice Media Availability
Wednesday, July 31, 2013
Kenny, it’s been pretty apparent in the last several days, especially Saturday being a good day, that a handful of balls have found you. Can you ...

Kenny, it’s been pretty apparent in the last several days, especially Saturday being a good day, that a handful of balls have found you. Can you just touch on how from OTA’s to minicamps to now, it kind of seems like you are getting more involved. Are you starting to understand the system a little more or is it just kind of the luck of the draw when balls are flying at you?

“Yes, a lot of that is just the luck of the draw like you are saying. I just happened to be there, the ball happens to come your way, the defense spreads and the quarterback finds you. I have been getting pretty lucky there, and like you said, I am getting a lot more comfortable with the offensive system.”

Do you think that comfort is part of the reason we are starting to see you get some more time with the ones?

“No. Coaches are rotating how they want to and seeing and putting guys in different positions to see what they can do. The ones, twos, it doesn’t matter. I’m just feeling the system.”

Coach called you a quick study. We touched on it earlier, but can you talk about picking up the system so quickly to be able to really show on the field?

“It benefits me just in the fact that we have a similar type of offense at Oklahoma. Coming here and being that my dad played football. I have been around football for a long time, so knowing the schemes and being able to grasp them very quickly has helped me, get out there and be able to make the plays.”

Lots of players tend to think that competition brings the best out of people. You look at this receiving core, sure maybe outside of here, people may know Joseph Morgan, Marques Colston and Lance Moore, but there is a pretty competitive group of good receivers?

“Definitely. We are all learning from each other. At the end of the day, we know that they only keep so many guys, but we are trying to help each other in the receiving room, and we all have each other’s back.”

We are all starting to get to know Kenny Vacarro, but you know him from your days at Oklahoma. Our eyes are open a little bit about how aggressive he is, but you have known that for quite a while now?

“Yes, we have had some heated rivalries there with Kenny. I know what type of player he is, and he knows what type of player I am. I think it has taken a little bit for the other guys, and the rest of the team to get used to him.”

You have a lot of guys battling for those last few receiver spots. Talk about how that competition is going so far and what you are doing to separate yourself from the pack?

“We know they only keep a certain number of guys at receiver, but we have a really tight room, a really good group of guys, and we are all in there helping each other. We know it is a competition, and we know that we have to come out here and make every play that we can. At the end of the day, we know that we all have each other’s back.”

After being in the NFL for so long, what’s it like to come to this franchise specifically and how well do you feel you fit in so far?

“First of all, Sean (Payton) is an incredible leader. I have had some good head coaches but Sean (Payton) has built an incredible machine here. It’s very impressive and as far as me fitting in, we have a lot of great guys here so it makes the transition a lot easier.”

Do you welcome the role being the veteran guy?

“The thing is with experience, you can help a guy out and I know that the same thing happened to me when I was a younger guy. I had great guys like Regan Upshaw, Greg Ellis, and some other great veterans that taught me a lot.”

What’s your role potentially in this defense? It’s a new scheme for these guys but how good can this defense be?

“We definitely have a high ceiling. There is so much talent here. I think that the skill set fits really well with what Rob (Ryan) is doing. There is a high ceiling for me and I am going to do whatever is asked of me.”